Former DNC Chair Terry McAuliffe Explains Why “Trump Sucks” Doesn’t Work Anymore

The Chris Cuomo Project

Chris Cuomo

News, News Commentary, Politics, Government

4.6 • 3.3K Ratings

🗓️ 20 May 2025

⏱️ 49 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Terry McAuliffe (72nd Governor of Virginia and former chairman, Democratic National Committee) joins Chris Cuomo to assess the state of the Democratic Party and what went wrong in the 2024 election. From failing to connect on core issues like inflation, immigration, and working-class economic anxiety, to misreading the appeal of culture war politics and populist messaging, McAuliffe lays out why Democrats are struggling — and what needs to change. He and Cuomo debate the party’s messaging strategy, Kamala Harris’s political positioning, and whether MAGA’s success stems from Trump’s policies or his symbolic power as a disruptor. McAuliffe also shares his experience on the front lines in Ukraine and weighs in on what the party must do to win back Congress and move forward after Biden. Note: This episode was recorded prior to President Biden's cancer diagnosis. Follow and subscribe to The Chris Cuomo Project on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and YouTube for new episodes every Tuesday and Thursday: https://linktr.ee/cuomoproject Join Chris Ad-Free On Substack: http://thechriscuomoproject.substack.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	If you want to know where the Democrats are their best, and if you want to know why they're down,
0:05.5	I've got the guy who can explain it all to you in terms of their past, their present, but most
0:10.8	importantly, their future.
0:12.7	I'm Chris Cuomo.
0:13.5	Welcome to the Chris Cuomo Project.
0:14.9	One of the great names in Democratic politics is Governor Terry McAuliffe.
0:19.9	Why?
0:20.5	He was there with Clinton. He helped build that
0:22.7	machine. He then helped build the party after it. And then he became a governor in Virginia,
0:28.1	even though he was from New York. How did he pull that off? That's why Terry McCallough is such an
0:34.2	interesting point of reference for Democrats. What is working and not working for them right now?
0:40.6	What is the future?
0:41.8	And by the way, why is Terry McCallough a name that you're going to want to get to know?
0:48.6	Here it is.
0:58.2	Gov, great to have you.
1:00.3	Let's talk about what's top of mind.
1:08.5	It seems like Donald Trump is truly the Teflon Don, that he can do whatever he wants and get away with it, whether it's the plane, whether what he says,
1:12.6	whether how he abuses norms and the law. How do you explain it?
1:17.6	Yeah, it's almost hard to explain. It's like, Chris, nobody even cares what the press says anymore.
1:22.6	He doesn't care what the press says. Nobody cares what anybody's saying. I mean, think of what we've gone through.
1:28.9	You know, just did the huge deal in the Middle East, and he's using two billion dollars of Trump
1:33.2	bitcoins, which is going to send the value of the bitcoins up. He gets a $400 million plane.
	...

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